Learning the Pentatonic Scale
The pentatonic scale is the first scale any guitar player should learn. It is the easiest, and also the most important. Even if you never learn another scale in your life, if you master the pentatonic scale, you’ll go far -- it’s that important!
With that said, here it is:
The scale in this video is the minor pentatonic scale, and the scale pattern for it is below. The numbers represent your fingers; index being 1, pinky being 4. The red note is the root, and the others are octaves of that same note.
E: |--1--|—--|—--|--4--| — 1st string
B: |--1--|—--|—--|--4--|
G: |--1--|—--|--3--|—--|
D: |--1--|—--|--3--|—--|
A: |--1--|—--|--3--|—--|
E: |--1--|—--|—--|--4--| — 6th string
The tab starts at the 5th fret (Am Pentatonic position)
You can see the whole fretboard in the diagram on the right. The red notes are the root notes. Try to get used to seeing how the scale repeats itself. Every time you see a red note, that’s the octave, and it means the scale is starting over again.
The minor pentatonic scale I just showed you in this video is really only the tip of the iceberg. If you really want to accelerate your mastery of blues guitar, checkout Playing Through The Blues by Griff Hamlin. It’s a great course that will have you on your way in no time!
Questions or Comments? Leave one below!
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Sweet – that’s exactly what I needed.
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http://www.guitartipsweekly.com – da best. Keep it going!
Edwas
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Thanks, I need help. After being a 20 yr. self-taught player it’s time to reach out.
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Hello,Just wanted to let you know
The tab for this video shows you playing the 8 fret on the a string. The video shows you playing the 7 fret, a string.
Thank you for your time for putting this together it does help.
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Hi Buddy – I just checked and I’m pretty sure the tab is ok. This tab isn’t true tab – I did it this way to indicate which finger to use on which fret. Kind of a wierd way of doing it I guess. I’ll try to come up with a better graphic.
So on the A string, with your index finger anchored off the 5th fret, you would play with your 3rd finger on the 7th fret.
Hope that helps.
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I play scales A LOT!!! Do you have any advise on how to make it more enjoyable? I improvise through them and practice alternate picking. Anything else?
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Jonathan Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Hey Eroc – improvising over them is where I get the most enjoyment from my scales. You could also try finding and playing the notes from the chords in that key out of the scale, and arpeggiating them. Not sure where you’re at with your theory
Another great practice technique is taking your box patterns and finding ways to transition between them. I’m thinking of doing a lesson on this soon.
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this is good stuff ive been playing for 40 years +. country music mostly ive been wanting to pick up on the blues and this is great keep it up man !!! you can teach an old dog new tricks !!!!! thanks
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Great job Johnathan,
Let me know if you would like to link to my site.
I am a builder of Blues Guitars in Northern CA.
http://www.JLSguitars.com
My customers could see your lessons……….
Peace
Jim
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Jonathan Reply:
December 24th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Hey Jim – I just emailed you… nice guitars by the way!
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Hi Jonathan,
I am very new to utilizing scales, so my question might sound kind of dopey, but here goes.
WHere exactly can I practice soloing with this scale pattern? Is is just for AM songs, GM songs, CM songs..etc?
I like the pentatonic, it is easy enough to get comfortable with, but I do not think I would get to use it much if it is just for ‘minor’ chording songs.
Could you clarify this, in case I am completely wrong.
Maggie
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Hi Maggie – the pentatonic scale can be used in major or minor keys. Am Pentatonic sounds great in the key of C major, because Am is the relative minor of C major.
If you want to play in a different key, simply move the pattern up or down the fretboard to the key where you want to play in. It’s the same pattern, wherever you go!
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Just fabulous, I am going to have lots of fun with this, and it will definitely help me discover my bar chords quicker.
When you say I can use the AM pentatonic with the Cmajor chord, do you mean that I can stay on the 5th fret and use it for A ‘or’ C improvising? If so, that is interesting, as I do that when I play harmonica with my guitar, I found that by chance.
This is really going to be fun.
Thanx
M
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Yes, you can use Am pentatonic with the C major chord, however more broadly you can use it over anything that is being played in the key of C, or the key of Am for that matter.
So if a song is in the key of C, you could improvise during the whole song in the Am pentatonic scale.
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This is like getting a ‘double dip’ and winning. I will just work it with C and AM for awhile, just play and play until I have a comfort zone, two for one, very nice. This is a great scale to begin with, it is such an easy fit, the concept is clear, and the possibilities are pretty limitless, with some healthy creative skills.
thanks a lot:)
Maggie
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Seeing you ‘get it’ makes me smile – its great fun when the light bulb goes on isn’t it?
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Hi Jonathan,
First, off topic, but I want thank you for the great crash course on guitar theory. I’ve been getting together and playing with 3 guys for over a year and they’re always referring to these concepts, and I’ve always had a “deer in the headlights” look on my face. It was exactly the foundation I needed. Well worth the $18 and great that I can replay the lesson again when needed.
I’ve also been working with a book called “Fretboard Logic” by Bill Edwards, and finding it very helpful. Among other things, he teaches what he refers to as the C-A-G-E-D scale forms. For example, if I play the G scale form at the 5th position I get a C Scale that can be used to play lead patterns for songs in the key of C.
This is exactly the same scale you are teaching here in this lesson and which you refer to as the Am Pentatonic Scale. Curious how it got to be called Am. Can you explain?
Cheers,
Jim
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Jonathan Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Hi Jim, I’m not completely familiar with the C-A-G-E-D system; though it looks to be a easy way to think of some of the fifth intervals.
Pentatonic minor is the proper name for this scale… though it is sometimes referred to as the blues scale as well. You can move the scale form all over the fretboard and the letter names will change; however it is still a pentatonic minor. This particular one in the video is the A minor pentatonic. I get into this in a bit more detail in my Guitar Scale Patterns lesson.
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nice…………….
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You are right on about Griff Hamlins course Unleashing the blues. The course I got is not for beginners & I also found out I wasn’t as skilled with chords as I had thought. Especially the 7th & 9th chords. I’m really picking alot of good stuff up. Looking forward to working with you also.
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I have already been working on my pentatonic scales and have some questions. There are 5 forms of pentatonic scales.. if they can all be moved, what is the reason to have 5 of them? I have heard that the major and minor pentatonic is the same scale but the root note is different and that you don’t have to start on the root note. The one shown here is the first form. The minor root is the 6 string 5 fret and the major is 6 string 8 fret. What is the musical difference between the two of them as they seem the same to me especially since you don’t need to start on the root. I also have been wanting to learn how to move between the forms, but don’t understand how to do that yet.
I really love the rifs from your previous lessons.. The 4 note blues one and the one in the key of G using the scale. Excellent stuff. Thanks for the lessons.
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I also have been a “Thumper” for quite awhile & have always wanted more so this will be a blessing for my learning curve.. Thanks much & keep up the good work,, I’ll be practicing.
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Hi
Thanks for doing this!!
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Jonathan,
I’m just curious because I’m trying to grasp the theory of how Am is a relative minor of Cmaj. I know Am works with the key of C simply because the note “C” is the result of lowering the 3rd of “A” by a half step. But I also know that in any key, usually its the root note, 4th, and 5th and for “C”, “A” is a 6th of “C”. Can you explain if you know please?
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Jonathan Reply:
March 27th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Hi Adam,
I get into this in more depth in my lesson on I IV V, at OneFourFive.com, but basically the A is the 6th (VI) note of the C scale. So you can look at it as going up to the 6th, or coming down three semitones from the octave; same difference in the end. The relative minor scale goes through exactly the same notes from the C major scale, but the only difference is that the minor scale starts on the 6th note. Hope that helps a bit. Cheers.
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I don’t know how it’s going to help just yet, but I’m sure it will. The only other scale I know to date is the Gmaj scale. I’ve been doing the Chimp thing for 30 years. I just returned from a vacation in Nashville. I’m determined to learn the neck of this guitar.
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pentatonic
nice – what’s next my friend
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Thank you John for making the Am Pentatonic scale playing so simple and interesting that I am sure will encourage me to practise hard.
Regards
Madhusudhan
India
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you very good teacher keep up the good work. joetheshakerRBLEG. THANKS
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Easy to follow. Thanks! This is just what I needed to see.
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I’m a 58 year old wanna be. I taught myself some cords at a teen and have been playing and singing ( not always good ) off and on since. Feel it is about time to learn some finger playing. I will practice the scale and see what happens. Love the blues.
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very nice lesson
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Thanks! My first lesson & very impressed.Looking forward to more.
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Thanks ! First lesson & it was great. Looking forward to more.
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Hey, I’ve just subscribed to these lessons and this is the first one I’ve watched. I can already see that I’m going to learn a lot from them, thanks. I’m a relative rookie in guitar scales and riffing etc. I’ve been more interested in the easy chords stuff before.
I think this scale is great for Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis. I was just playing along with it there and almost all the riffs are within this scale. Can you recommend any other songs I can use to help me practice this scale?
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Hi Sean – the cool thing about the pentatonic scale is you can use it nearly anywhere. So I’d recommend putting on another song you like, figure out which key it is in, and then try the pentatonic scale over top of it. You might be surprised how well it works!
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Sean Loughran Reply:
June 24th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Ok, thanks. Looking forward to my next lesson! I try a lot of solos for various songs but never really took a notion as to what key it’s in or anything like that so I think a lot of things will fall into place by watching these videos.
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awesome cheers for that it comes in handy
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nice. very easy to follow. thanks
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